Basketball: The extra arc

I’m not a big B-ball fan, but as I was flipping through some of the recent NBA finals game I noticed a small arc of paint in “the paint”.

Anyone know what that is there for?

Thanks.

The NBA shortened the 3-point line a few years back, and then they returned to the origianl distance. Also, some college teams play their games on NBA courts, so the line may be the college 3-point line.

If you mean the small arc just under the basket, that is the exclusion arc. An offensive player with the ball shall not be charged with a charging foul if he collides with a defensive player inside that arc. (Otherwise you could never attack the basket,)

Thanks that’s the “arc” I was referring to.

Just curious, when did they add that?

Basically, it’s always been there, but only as an ‘imaginary line’. The rule states (roughly) that anyplayer within 3 feet of the basket will not be given a foul for charging. But it’s a lot easier for refs to figure out if the player is in that area within the circle. A few years ago, the NBA tweeked some rules to try to improve offensive performance. They decided that if it was easier to see that a player was inside the circle, it’d be easier to not make a charging call, therefore providing the offense with a relative advantage, without fundamentally changing any rules.